EAGLE PASS, Texas (WOAI) — You've likely heard about the floating barrier in the Rio Grande, but what you might not have heard about is the metal disks in between each buoy.

The disks with serrated edges are at the center of new controversy, and their intent changes depending on who you ask. Some opponents have referred to them as circular saws.

Rep. Joaquin Castro got to see them up close earlier this month after leading a group of Democratic lawmakers on a border visit.

He filmed this video in front of an uninstalled section of buoys, pointing out that disk.

"The state says that they're not a danger to anybody," Castro says before gesturing to the discs. "I want you to look right here at this chainsaw-type device right in the middle of these buoys."

But a former Border Patrol Chief says that's not totally accurate.

Rodney Scott now serves as the Distinguished Fellow for Border Security at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a right-leaning think tank in Austin.

The metal disc on the buoy barrier system deployed by Texas is actually a passive radial disc, strictly designed to be an anti-climb deterrent. Border Patrol personnel tested the barriers, and the disks, personally and determined that the blades would make climbers uncomfortable, but would not break the skin or injure a person.Claims that the metal disks are blades designed to maim and kill illegal immigrants are pure fiction, as are claims made by House Democrats that the border is secure. Governor Abbott is taking necessary steps to secure the border and save lives, including the deployment of a buoy barrier system.

Castro doesn't see it that way.

"It's incredibly dangerous, incredibly inhumane. And that's the reason that I've said that it's barbaric. Because it is," Castro said after pointing out the buoys and concertina wire on the banks of the Rio Grande.

These buoys will soon get their day in court.

The Department of Justice is suing Texas, aiming to get them removed.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott maintains that it's the state's right to put the barrier in the Rio Grande.

That lawsuit is still going on.

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